Money, God & You: How It Really Works!

By Serah Lister

And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth... ~ Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV)

If you have struggled to grasp the relationship between your spirituality and wealth, then this book will give you the clarity you need. According to the Bible, poverty is a curse and this book will give you the full understanding, principles and tools you need to change what is holding you back.

Many people operate on generational wealth and money beliefs that have been handed down and continue to reign unchallenged. God wants you to prosper for He is an abundant God and creation confirms it.

Starting with less than $100 and no family or friends in a foreign country, Serah has tried, tested and proven the principles in this book.

Was it easy? No, for nothing worthwhile is borne in the comfort zone! You are only transformed by the renewing of the mind.

Your finances depend on the action you take today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kianjirigua Publishing
• Release date: Apr 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9780992913724

Book preview

MONEY, GOD & YOU

How It Really Works!

SERAH LISTER

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

© Serah Lister

ISBN 978-0-9929137-2-4

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study; or criticism or review, as permitted under the copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of the licenses issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publisher.

Email: [e-mail]

Publisher address:

Kianjirigua Publishing,

44a Croydon Road,

London, SE20 7AE

United Kingdom

DEDICATION

To my son Andrew, I waited for 8 years to see and hold you in my arms. You don’t belong to me but to Him who sent you here; you chose me among others to be your guardian for a time and I am forever grateful!

I exhort you to revere and be centred in Elohim; the great I AM, your source, the light of your life.

I love you beyond words! Never stop seeking after the truth for truth brings freedom.

Acknowledgments

To Florence Kioko, you took a chance on our friendship and invited me a to a youth camp many years ago, and my life has never been the same!

Muthoni, you never judged me; your unconditional love spoke of a love greater than anything I had ever experienced and has shaped my ministry to others.

Andrew Lister, you are my number one teacher and many times you remind me that God is not an angry old man up in the sky. Your depth of understanding the mysteries of God confirm the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:25 – ‘You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children’.

My Mastermind (SLM), Janet Blair and Naomi Soko, I am so blessed to have you in my life; you keep me accountable! Remembering Hollywood, all things work together for good.

Kenneth Hagin, though we never met you taught me the foundations of faith, freedom from sickness and poverty.

Bishop Kitonga, my deepest gratitude to you for having faith in a stranger.

To my late friend and brother John Kibe, priceless and gone home early. Remember those long Saturdays working the streets of Nairobi tirelessly to make a difference to the destitute children!

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Holmsted Manor January and May 1996 DTS, you gave me wings to manifest my faith on another level!

There is no pearl without the oyster and I would like to thank pastors who allowed me to serve in their ministry over the years.

Finally, to my father, the man who never treated me like a girl, set high expectations on my achievements so I could be the woman I am today. I LOVE YOU eternally!

INTRODUCTION

Over the last 20 years living in the United Kingdom, I have seen God move in what can only be described as miraculous; way beyond my comprehension. I started on the ‘minus side of the line’ and struggled to even secure a cleaning job in a foreign country. The ‘minus side’ presented me with huge odds: no family, church, friends, sponsor, inheritance or money in a bank account. Do I have anything going for me at all? What I had the world did not acknowledge, let alone respect or value. That is the world for you, different from God. Thank God, His yardstick for success is totally different! His ways are higher than man’s.

Despite my initial disadvantages and setbacks, I have had the amazing privilege of travelling to Albania, Holland, Slovenia, America, Canada, Nigeria, India, United Emirates, Egypt, Tanzania, Hong Kong, South Africa, Uganda, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Spain, Greece and more. How? I dared to believe in God! With man this might be impossible, but with God all things are possible.

My incredible journey of faith started in my home country Kenya long before all of the above, when God raised me from the deathbed. Before the near-death experience, God had called me to England. Up until that time, it had not occurred to me to travel abroad, so I had no passport or cash stashed up somewhere.

My trauma due to the illness and the healing afterwards created a transformation in me and confirmed my calling! Like a resurrected Lazarus on a mission, I left Kenya with $100, no visa and a one-way ticket! When I eventually stepped on the other side of the immigration desk at Heathrow Airport, I had a year visa! It makes me cringe today when I look back but I was on God’s mission and unafraid! Faith in the word of God had triumphed over the systems of man.

A pointer to my resolute faith in God is the fact that I have always allowed the word of God to challenge me even when I have doubt in my mind. One of my favourite scriptures is Romans 3: 4, ‘Let God be true, but every man be a liar!’ I may be defensive and self-justifying at first but I align myself with the word of God once the realisation dawns on me.

Annoyed and Defensive!

I remember the first day I heard someone in a non-church seminar quote 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV), ‘For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil...’

My ears pricked up, especially when they said it didn’t mean what I had always believed! That little voice in my head was now very loud, and it was asking all sorts of questions. My beliefs about money and God were being challenged, and I didn’t like that one bit!

I didn’t want to believe that he was right because I had heard that verse in all versions and paraphrases repeated countless times by people who couldn’t even read! It had always meant the same thing, which this man was trying to say it didn't. I listened carefully with all my ‘heresy' defences thinking, ‘Why should I believe you? What do you know about the Bible? You’re not even a preacher!’ It’s amazing how we can stand up for something we are not even sure of ourselves. When challenged, we assume the person challenging is wrong.

For me, two aspects of life have constantly ‘reared their ugly heads’ in a rather beautiful way when I least expect it: The areas of money (wealth) and my identity have always been a good ‘thorn in the flesh’ provoking my thinking. They tend to throw me off course a bit but strengthen my belief and resolve as I once regain absolute balance from pure perspective of God’s word.

This book addresses the areas of money and wealth; it will challenge the status quo, the hand-me-down beliefs so many of us Christians carry around regarding money and wealth. These beliefs have an impact on the decisions we make, our outlook on life, attitudes, kingdom, and ministry and are crippling many faithful who are called by the Lord’s name.

In this book I share principles I have tried, tested and proven to be true. It's not something I read in a book, it's my life and I have many witnesses to this glorious existence! Again, let God be true and every man a liar.

CHAPTER 1

I WILL BLESS YOU!

And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

—Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV)

Who Cares?

Why is the relationship between money, God, and you important? Why should you care?

Put the above questions on pause for a moment and let’s ruminate on perhaps a more important question, ‘Was I born poor or not?’ I don’t believe anyone is born poor, no matter the family circumstances, location, race or creed! This assertion may sound like an irony coming from someone not born or raised in the developed world. I will do best here to justify my reasoning – with the word of God!

I was born in a little village on the slopes of Mount Kenya. When I was young, even having a pair of shoes signified wealth. While that is so far removed from the reality I live today and what I see now, the truth is, that little girl still lives in me; the values, beliefs, and doctrine that were instilled in me then, still reigns sometimes unchallenged!

I can remember one day while attending my Catholic primary school, I decided to wear my green canvas Bata shoes; it felt so good not to walk the three kilometres to school on sharp, hot rocks. Well, my history teacher didn’t think so! He was offended and took it upon himself to remind me that flaunting wealth was not a good thing. I was punished for it, and after insults over my shoes and a stern reminder how low I truly was, he sent me outside to stand by the prominent tree where students from my class and other classes could see me! That's a double history lesson I will never forget, which may explain why I hated history so much in later years.

This was not just a lesson to me, but to everyone else in the class that flaunting wealth was bad, and those who display it should be attacked and punished. I was afraid to wear shoes to school and I guess every other child who witnessed my treatment. These types of wrong seeds were planted in some of us early in life. Then I and my school mates received such subtle loads of